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Neurologist Paresh Malhotra, a consultant at Charing Cross hospital, confirmed: "There are a number of things that can result from a brain injury.

"Some people lose the ability to detect emotion in what other people say or their faces, or they can become less emotional themselves.

"They can become less responsive to emotional news, whether happy or sad, and that can result from frontal lobe damage. They can also become apathetic and lose their ability to empathise.

"Physical damage to the brain can affect emotional responses, it can happen with a stroke, but also with other types of brain injury.

"Injuries to different parts of the brain can result in different symptoms. If you damage the brain circuits that are responsible for emotion and empathy then those responses are affected."

Many of the psychological changes that occur after a stroke are down to the physical damage of the brain, and will depend upon which part of the brain has been affected and the extent of the damage, The Stroke Association said.

Dr Clare Walton explained: “When a stroke strikes, the blood supply to the brain is cut off, brain cells die and permanent damage can be caused. Every stroke is different, and the area of the brain that’s damaged will determine how the person is affected.

"While we haven’t heard before of stroke survivors completely losing the ability to feel a particular emotion, many stroke survivors find it very difficult to control their emotions following a stroke and may cry or laugh at inappropriate times.

"While there is increasing recognition of the emotional problems encountered by stroke survivors, more needs to be done to ensure that every stroke survivor gains access to appropriate emotional and psychological support to help them adjust to the aftermath of a stroke.”

Mr Myatt, who is taking part in the Alzheimer Society’s Memory Walk to raise money for the charity which offers him support, suffered his stroke in 2004.

The part time football referee was still working and was fit and healthyat the time, but his wife Kath was told to prepare for the worse as he might not make it through the night.

He has since made a slow recovery, and added: "Now I say thank you every morning when I wake up."

Mrs Myatt added: "Malcolm's very childish now. It's infectious. When he starts laughing everyone in the room does. If he's in hysterics, everyone else is too. He livens up any room. Everyone misses him when he's not there."

Luke Griggs, spokesman for Headway, the brain injury association, added: “Emotional and behavioural problems are not uncommon following brain injury.”

“Problems can include apathy, agitation, explosive anger and irritability, and a general inability to control emotions. It can also result in a loss of empathy or even the ability to connect with one’s emotions, thus inhibiting feelings of sadness or joy.

“These changes can put tremendous pressure on relationships, particularly if the injured person has no awareness or insight into their own feelings and behaviour or the results their actions may have on others. The often hidden nature of brain injury adds to the challenges faced by individuals and couples as often those affected do not get the help or understanding they need in order to manage the effects of their brain injury.”